Wall-like structure



Aug. 10, 1965 T. c. SODDY WALL-LIKE STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 14, 1961 Aug. 10, 1965 1-. c. SODDY WALL-LIKE STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1961 CUSHION 7 w xi 1|: 1 11111111111 1 9 4 WM 4 4 m m F x W\ Z 6 u M a x. M W 6 llll ll 1!! ilwxl y d M u 6. v; 3. a a w a K m m w m F C R United States Patent 3,l,?.6l WALLLEKE d'lllUC'lURE Thomas C. Soddy, Downers Grove, BL, assignor to American Seal-Rap Qorporation of Delaware, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Belaware .lune 14, 1961, Ser. No. llLtlSL 9 Claims. (Cl. 52-615) The invention relates to Wall-like structure such as may be embodied in a single panel, or may be embodied in one or more preformed units which may be assembled together, or may be embodied in a larger built-up construction.

Among the general objects of the invention are: to secure wall strength with reduced wei ht and thickness compare with walls generally used in sirnil r installations; to obtain a high degree of thermal insulation; and to combine parts formed respectively of yielding material and of rigid material in a unit which has the advantages of both materials but which parts would be less eifective if used alone. More specific objects are: to construct a strong, light weight, thermal tight, energy absorbing wall or door, or both, of a merchandise container, e.g., a rail way refrigerator car, so as to obtain maximum cubic capacity of the container for given over-all dimensions While maintaining adequate strength, Weartherproofing, durability and insulation.

The invention resides in a combination of a rigid urethane foam slab or block one or more yieldable urethane foam ushions with one or more other wall-forming parts. Preferably the novel structure includes units of plastic foam combined with sheets of metal and thermoplastics and adapted to Withstand or compensate for lateral thrusts applied thereto by external forces and by internal loads.

Gther detailed objects will be noted in the following description of selected embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FEGURE l is a side view of a portion of a railway refrigerator car provided with a sliding door.

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal transverse section on line 2-2. of FIGURE 1 and is drawn to a larger scale.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical transverse section on line =3 of a EGURE 1 but dz wn to a larger scale.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical transverse section on line 4-i of FEGURE l but drawn to a larger scale.

:lGURE 5 is a detail horizontal section through another form of side wall.

in FIGURES 1-4 a car side sill is shown at l9, and upright posts 12, 1d are mounted upon the side sill and carry a side plate Gutcr sheathing metal plates is are secured to side posts l2, l4 and terminate at the latter to provide an opening for a flush-type door carried by upriat shafts 22 having cranks pivotally mounted on carria es provided with rollers 28 traveling along a track 3% mounted by braclrets on a side sill reinforcin channel 34. The door is locked in closed position by shafts operated by levers SS in a well-known manner. The mounting and operation of the door does not constitute the present invention.

Wooden battens 48 are bolted or bonded to flanges on side posts 14 and a Wall inner sheathing id is secured to battens Sheathing may be of relatively thin and still, hard surface sheets such as metal, glass fibre fabric, thermoplastic or other plastic material and preferably is corrugated at 45 to provide a measure of transverse reinforcement and to form air pockets within the Wall for thermal insulation, and provide air circulation between the wall and cartons C when package commodities are loaded against wall corrugations. Applied to and preferably bonded, glued or otherwise integrated with exterior sheathing l8 and side posts 12 and 14 is a butter or cush- Edd-92bit ion layer of yielding, or flexible urethane foam material 47 extending substantially throughout the length and height of the car side. A layer 49 of similar material is applied to the inner face of interior sheathing 44. An intermediate stratum 51 of rigid urethane foam material forms a filler between layers 57 and 49. All three layers of the foam material are bonded, glued or otherwise integrated and, with the exterior and interior sheathings, form a unitary Wall structure of high strength and light weight and adapted to resist injury by impact of highway trucks, loading platforms, or other exterior objects, or by thrust from crates, barrels or other lading in the car which may shift against the interior of the walls. If the thermoplastic inside sheathing is deformed under blows, it will be returned to its normal general plane by its inherent resiliency and by the pressure of the cushion material behind the sheathing. If the outside metal sheathing is buckled, he outer cushion of yielding foam will compensate and the general insulating effect will be retained effectively.

The body or wall of door 29 comprises a lower rail 66, an upper rail 62, a front edging 6 and a rear edging all of rolled or extruded metal and secured together at their ends to constitute a framing. Between the framing members is a panel preferably comprising a plurality of interlocked sections 68, 7d and '72. This type of door is described in detail in an application by the present inventor, Serial No. 15,376, filed March 16, 1969.

A lied to the inner flanges '74- of sections 68, 7t '72 is a war like unit comprising a sheet of fiberboard, aluminum or similar relatively stiff non-moisture absorbing material. A stratum '76 of rigid urethane foam as previously described is bonded, glued or otherwise integrated with the inner face of sheet ?5 and with the inner face of a buffer layer 78 of flexible urethane foam. Bonded, glued or otherwise integrated with the inner face of layer '73 is a relatively thin corrugated sheet Sit of hard surface thermoplastie material relatively stiff throughout the length and Width of its general plane but possessing sufficient flexibility transversely of its plane to yield to the thrust of lading or other force applied to it. The corrugations 82 may be omitted if deemed necessary for the service in which the car is to be used.

Preferably wooden battens or spacers S4, as are fitted to the marginal portions of the framing members and spaces between battens S4, 86 and the adjacent edges of stratum lo and layer '?8 are filled with rigid urethane foam (indicated at 83) poure into place after assembly of the metal and insulating panels, or board stock glued to adjacent members. This results in a continuous area of insulation from front to rear and from bottom to top of the door. While the space between ribs '74 of the interlocked sections may also be filled with urethane foam poured into place, ordinarily this will not be particularly advantageous and air chambers indicated at S may be formed. This will be effective as insulation because of the seal provided between the framing members and the edges of the insulation panel.

Preferably the panel for the door will be applied in a single unit extending from top to bottom and from front to rear of the door. Usually it Will be more practical to form the panels for the car side Wall in a plurality of units of desired length and Width, cg. 8 by 4, which may be secured to the wall outer sheathing ill. Preferably there will be provided space between the opposing edges of adjacent units to be filled With flexible urethane sections 94), 92 (FIGURES 2, 4) poured after the preformed panels have been secured to the Wall posts and thereby integrated with the Wall panels. The units may have offset edges to form Ship lap joints as shown in FIGURE 2 for more eifective insulation, but this is not essential. The door may be similarly constructed if desired.

FIGURE illustrates another car wall structure in which the car framing including side posts 1%, door posts 102, and side sill, side plate and diagonal bracing (not shown but corresponding to those parts indicated in FIG- URES 1-4), is completed, and the remainder of the wall structure is applied as a unit to the framing. This unit comprises a sandwich of layers of rigid foam material 104 and cushion foam material 1&6 between relatively thin and stiff, hard surface sheathing 108, 110 which may be of metal or plastic sheets. The inner sheathing is corrugated as previously described and the corrugations interior of the wall are filled with the cushion foam.

The sandwich may be continuous from door to end of car or may be made in units as previously described. Application to the side framing is completed by gluing or other bonding or by blind riveting, etc.

With these constructions, over-all thickness of wall and door usually required for refrigerator cars may be reduced and the cubic capacity of a car having a given outside length, width and height is substantially increased but its weight may be decreased substantially. This is due to the use of urethane foam or similar material, whether rigid or cushion, which is produced by expanding the plastic with a gaseous blowing agent. Varying the plastic formula and the blowing agent and ambient temperatures during production will produce the qualities desired, varying the density of the foam and varying its weight from 50 pounds per cubic foot down to two pounds per cubic foot.. Expansion and contraction due to refrigeration and atmospheric variations does not affect the joint between the rigid and adjoining materials because the yielding layers accommodate any changes. This avoids disadvantages of broken joints between unyielding parts of panels or between panels of unyielding material. Fits at the edges of the panels are readily obtained initially and maintained throughout the life of the container;

Nevertheless, the rigid foam slab, while of high insulation value, contributes to the strength of the 'door when internal loads are applied to it as distinguished from flexible insulation of any type which does not resist the deflection of the door due to internal loading.

All of these advantages may be attained irrespective of variations in materials having the described characteristics and other details of construction, and the exclusive use of those modifications coming within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A structural panel comprising a rigid stratum of heat-insulating foamed plastic material and a buffer layer of substantial thickness of cushiony heat-insulating foamed plastic material having one face integrated with a face of the rigid stratum, and a relatively thin and stiff, hard surface sheet of plastic matrial forming a sheathing for the other face of said layer and integrated therewith,

, said layer and sheathing yielding transversely of their thickness to cushion the rigid stratum against forces applied to the sheathing.

2. A structural panel according to claim 1 which includes a second layer of cushiony foamed plastic material integrated with the other face of the rigid stratum, and a relatively thin and stiff hard surface sheet of metal forming an outer sheathing for the second layer of cushiony material.

' 3. A structural panel comprising an outer sheathing of material susceptible of buckling transversely of the panel, an inner sheathing of material susceptible of buckling transversely of the panel and spaced from said outer sheathing, a rigid intermediate slab of heat-insulating cellular plastic material with one face integrated with one of said sheathings, and a layer substantially thicker than the combined thicknesses of said inner and outer sheathings and formed of heat-insulating yielding material and constituting a cushion between said slab and the other one of said sheathings, accommodating movement 4 of adjacent portions of said sheathings relative to each other transversely of the panel.

4. A structural panel according to claim 3 in which one of the sheathings is spaced from the adjacent insulating material to form an air space, there being rigid spacing elements between the sheathing and insulating material at the margins of said air space to form one or more closed air chambers.

5. A structural panel according to claim 3 in which the outer sheathing is of metal, and the inner sheathing is a thermoplastic and the layer constituting a cushion is between the rigid slab and the inner sheathing.

6. A structural panel comprising inner and outer spaced apart sheathings of thin stiff sheet material flexible transversely under load, and a substantially continuous spacer between said sheathings including a layer of cushiony material secured to at least one of said sheathings and substantially thicker than the combined thickness of said sheathings, and a relatively thick layer of substantially rigid material secured to said layer of cushiony material, at least one of said layers possessing high heat-insulating characteristics, said layers being integrated with each other and to said sheathings substantially throughout their respective interfaces.

7. A railway house car structural panel comprising an outer sheathing formed of a series of substantially rigid metal sections disposed edge to edge and each including inwardly projecting marginal ribs, the ribs of adjacent sections being interlocked, a rigid stratum of urethane and the depth of the section ribs.

8. A railway house car side door including a lower rail, an upper rail, a front edging and a rear edging, all of structural metal members secured together at their ends to constitute a framing, and a structural panel extending between said framing members comprising a rigid stratum of heat-insulating foamed plastic material, a buffer layer of substantial thickness of cushiony heat-insulating foamed plastic material having one face integrated with a face of the rigid stratum and a relatively thin and stiif hard-surface sheet of plastic material forming a sheathing for the other face of said layer and integrated therewith, said layer and sheathings yielding transversely of their thickness to cushion the rigid stratum against forces applied to the door transversely of the sheathing.

9.'A railway house car side door including a front edging and a rear edging, and a wall-like unit applied thereto and comprising a series of substantially rigid metal sections disposed edge to edge, and each including inwardly projecting marginal ribs, the ribs of adjacent sections being interlocked, a rigid stratum of urethane foam having a stiff liner on one face applied to the inner edges of said ribs, a layer of substantial thickness of cushiony urethane foam alongside and united with the other face of said stratum, and a relatively thin inner sheathing applied to the inner face of said layer of cushiony foam and extending substantially throughout the length and width of the door.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,869,336 1/59 Smidl et al. 3,003,199 10/61 Talmey 204 3,042,137 7/ 62 Mathues etal.

HARRISON R. MQSELEY, Primary Examiner. LAWRENCE CHARLES, Examiner. 

1. A STRUCTURAL PANEL COMPRISING A RIGID STRATUM OF HEAT-INSULATING FOAMED PLASTIC MATERIAL AND A BUFFER LAYER OF SUBSTANTIAL THICKNESS OF CUSHIONY HEAT-INSULATING FOAMED PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING ONE FACE INTEGRATED WITH A FACE OF THE RIGID STRATUM, AND A RELATIVELY THIN AND STIFF, HARD SURFACE SHEET OF PLASTIC MATERIAL FORMING A SHEATHING FOR THE OTHER FACE OF SAID LAYER AND INTEGRATED THEREWITH, SAID LAYER AND SHEATHING YIELDING TRANSVERSELY OF THEIR THICKNESS TO CUSHION THE RIGID STRATUM AGAINST FORCES APPLIED TO THE SHEATHING. 